page by page
by bookworm5
Summary: some of us imagine how wonderful it would be to meet your favorite book charecters, Dani knows.
1. The Journeys of Siris Fantasion

                      Page by Page.   
  
          A/N Title still up for debate, also, I hate fiction press, this is original, and the only person I used for newsies was klopman as the librarian, sorry if that upsets anyone. Enjoy the story! 

          *~*

          Dani coughed into her hand, the musty air surrounding her, clogging her lungs and clouding her vision. She started to rise from her crouched down position, her fingers shaking in effort. _The Good Son _and _Dark Waters _tumbled from her hand into her blueish gray pack. She looked up quickly, her eyes slapping hard against the sun. She winced, her eyes protesting against the imposing light. Dani turned away, opened her eyes until the sickly green dots subsided and looked around. The musty shelves of the library were chock full of a variety of books, looking through, she could swear she could see someone behind them, but the image vanished and she dismissed it quickly. The strap around Dani's chest pulled her shirt into a crease between they tiny bumps that were her breasts, the heaviness cutting into her skin, or so it felt. Her sneaker-clad feet rocked back and forth as she gazed intently up the shelves. 

          _Oliver twist…_ another book tumbled into the bag.   
  
          _All creatures great and small… _after a few more minutes her tiny twigs of 6th grade legs started to give way under the heavy bag. Her glasses tipping back off her nose and poking her in the eye.   
  
          She tipped herself forcefully forward and looked at the clock. 7:45. They library would only be opened another 15 minutes. Dani started the long haul down the deserted isle to the metal spiral staircase. 

*~*

          Panting like she had just run a mile Dani hoisted the overflowing book bag onto the counter. Kloopman raised a brow at his favorite patron. 

          "Getting a little a head of yo'self aren't ya?" He asked as she started to empty the contents onto the counter.   
  
          "Are you kidding?" She asked, pulling out copies of _the sword and the stone _and _the once and future king. _"Summer vacation comes but once a year."   
  
          "I know, do you think we won't be open all summer?" 

          "I know you will." She said sadly. "But alas, I'm going to be gone for an entire two weeks." Kloopman stopped instantly. 

          "But why?" 

          "Summer Camp." She said. "My mother said it's a right of passage, before I graduate to Junior High." Dani hung her head miserably. Kloopman's heart sank. Summer camp, he remember, some of his best readers had gone. The wicked consolors had told them that books were nonsense, that they should only ride horses and swim. They had ruined his readers, his friends. Too many had slipped through his grips and been poisoned against him. He looked down miserably at the mass of auburn hair. No, he thought, not this one too. 

"There, there." He said consolingly. "Here, have yourself some grape juice for the way home." He pulled out the bottle and cup, letting her see him pour it. She wrapped her small hand around it. "Cheers mate." She said, as he checked out _Treasure Island _for her. He smiled knowingly and watched the grape juice transfer into her mouth. She looked at him, the dizziness taking place instantly. Her brown eyes met his blue ones, her pupils dialated till the brown was only a thin ring around the darkness.   
  
          First

"I feel kinda funny." She said, her words slurring and a moment later her knees buckled under her and she slumped on the floor. Slowly kloopman finished checking out her many books. "Goodnight dearest." He picked her up and laid her on a couch in the back, sweeping her book bag underneath the couch, her books stacked around her. Cautiously he opened _The Journeys of Siris Fantasion. _After locking and cleaning up, he glanced affectionately at the sleeping youth. 

"This is for your own good." He reassured the unconscious teen and then disappeared into the secret passage under the antique building. 


	2. The list with the Gold star ontop

            The library had been built in 1909 in the town of Northwood's Maine. The town had been nothing then and the library had gone under. The townsfolk had considered burning the building but the day the fires were to consume the Wooden Victorian, it rained. The matches refused to light and soon the building was simply left to rot. Years later, lodgers had come to the town, and the town began to prosper again. By this time, the vines had climbed thickly up the sides of the abandoned building. That's when a little boy and his father arrived, the year was 1920, and they were just in time to resurrect the dying building. 

            After world war two had fallen by the wayside and the father who now owned the building was pushing 40 and his son 24, together they ran the library. In the 1950's when books like 'of mice and men' were declared immoral, the library stood it's ground and remained an underground reservation for the freedom of speech. In 1957, the son was now 36 and married, his son was born and his wife died within the hour. The grandson grew to love the library and it's books, dusting them daily, rearranging them and fixing their covers whenever his duty called. The boy's messy blond hair sunk into his pale complexion, as he never left the library unless forced. The grandfather, the original owner passed away in 1964 of heart problems, the son died 3 years later in an automobile accident. The boy's grandmother by his mother tended him until he was 20, then she also passed away. The boy we now know as Kloopman stayed inside the library and watched from the windows the town that was starting to sink back into the woods from which it came. 

 Now in 2004, the town gets a breath of fresh air as new families moving in, starting a theatre, a chocolate shop, and a pottery shop. One of the children of the family that owns the chocolate shop was 10-year-old Danielle McCullah. Danielle first poked her head into the library on a particular cold day in November, looking to escape the winter chill. The 50-year-old man watched her with interest as she wandered lazily through the musty isles, her eyes that were too big for her head sliding up and down. Daintily she leaned down, plucking one book from the shelf. Embarrassedly she shuffled toward the counter, slipping it onto the glassy smooth surface. He nodded, and checked out the book for her, asking her her name she mumbled "Dani McCullah." 

"Danny? Who would name their daughter Danny?" Blood flushed to her pale cheeks. 

"It's short for Danielle." 

"Oh, of course." He slid the book off of the counter, tucked inside was her library card. She nodded and mumbled a 'thank you' and took off again into the winter, snow catching in her hair as she went. Instinctively he knew that he'd be seeing much more of the shy girl with eyes too big for her face, he pulled out a list with a gold star on top and scribbled 

            Dani McCullah, short for Danielle. 


End file.
